1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sound effect-creating device used in electronic musical instruments and the like, and more particularly to a sound effect-creating device which is adapted to determine a predetermined delay time based on a repetition period of a timing clock of a MIDI signal, or vice versa, in imparting a repeat effect to a musical tone.
2. Prior Art
It is a known excellent technique in playing musical instruments or singing in chorus, to delay musical tones produced by the instruments or voices of singers by the use of a delay device to impart a repeal effect thereto, and thereby make particular potions of the performance or the chorus emphatic or impressive. To make use of this technique, a sound effect-creating device comprising such a delay device is generally used today, i.e., at the age of rapid progress in the art related to electronic musical instruments, to impart a repeat effect to the performance.
In imparting a repeat effect to the performance and/or song (hereinafter simply referred to as "the performance") by the use of such a sound effect-creating device, it is a conventional method that an operator of the sound effect-creating device calculates a delay time based on the tempo of the performance, whenever it is required, or determines the delay time by the use of a converting table set therefor, and then the thus obtained delay time is set to the delay device of the sound effect-creating device.
However, this method has the following inconveniences: First, it is naturally required to make the tempo of performance of a musical instrument playing an accompaniment completely synchronous with the delay time for delaying the musical tone of the performance. Otherwise, the repeated tone or the delayed musical tone does not agree with the accompaniment, and impedes the performance to the contrary. According to the conventional method, the delay time of the sound effect-creating device for delaying the musical tone is set by the operator separately from the electronic musical instrument for the accompaniment, which prevents the tempo of the accompaniment of the electronic musical instrument from being completely synchronous with the delay time for delaying the musical tone. Furthermore, if the tempo of the performance or the accompaniment is changed during the performance, it is impossible to change setting of the delay time, since this will impede progress of the performance.
Secondly, such calculation or use of a converting table in determining a delay time is not preferred, since it is not only troublesome but also unbecoming to the performance of music which should be based on sensitivity by nature.